After the Ling family declares bankruptcy because its cash flow dries up, heiress Ling Chuxia is forced to sign a one-year marriage contract with business magnate Gu Linyuan to pay for her seriously ill father’s treatment. Gu Linyuan appears cold and aloof, but is secretly plotting revenge for his father, step by step. After the wedding, Ling Chuxia faces hostility from Gu’s mother and probing questions from the butler, so she secretly gathers business intelligence on the Gu family to protect herself. By chance, she discovers half of a photograph among her mother’s belongings, suggesting the Ling and Gu families once planned a marriage alliance. Gu Linyuan’s first love, Su Wanqing, returns from abroad and repeatedly uses public opinion to drive a wedge between them, leaving Ling Chuxia on the defensive. When Ling Chuxia is framed for leaking Gu Corporation’s core data, Gu Linyuan appears to transfer her out of a key position, but is actually sending her undercover to a competitor. Ling Chuxia and her friend Shen Tong open an independent design studio, finding their self-worth amid adversity. As they work together, Gu Linyuan is gradually moved by Ling Chuxia’s talent and kindness, and begins to question the old feud between their fathers. Ling Chuxia unexpectedly learns that her father received a mysterious transfer before his company went bankrupt, and the clues point to the Gu family. Just as their relationship begins to thaw, Su Wanqing orchestrates Ling Chuxia’s kidnapping. Gu Linyuan rescues her alone and is seriously injured. At the brink of death, Ling Chuxia confesses that she has long been in love with Gu Linyuan, and he lets go of his hatred too. But while on his sickbed, Ling’s father reveals Gu Linyuan’s secret: he is the eldest son who disappeared from the Ling family many years ago. The truth leaves them both devastated, and Ling Chuxia chooses to leave. Regretting his actions, Gu Linyuan joins forces with Ling Chuxia to investigate the conspiracy behind the transfer of their industries years ago. In the end, they discover that a third-party business rival drove a wedge between their families and caused all their grievances. The families reconcile, and Ling Chuxia and Gu Linyuan combine their resources in a new way to rebuild their business empire, turning their marriage contract into a real marriage.
